Extreme Beam lectures offer lens to laboratory's future

The third lecture in the Extreme Beam lecture series will take place Thursday, April 16, in One West.

Want to learn more about Fermilab's future? Then you should attend the Extreme Beam lectures, a series that brings high-energy physics experts to Fermilab to present information on the science and technologies the laboratory plans to pursue.

"The topics discussed in this series are a snapshot of the sort of things we can do at the Intensity Frontier," said Fermilab physicist Herman White, workshop co-organizer.

The series features talks at Fermilab throughout 2009, highlighting the science and technologies that Fermilab will build upon to create a world-leading physics program at the Intensity Frontier.

"A lot of this physics is not new to the world, but is new to Fermilab," said Brendan Casey, a DZero collaborator who also works on the g-2 muon experiment. "We have the ability to take it to the next level if we do our homework. That's what these lectures are - doing our homework."

That's exactly what the lectures did for Casey.

"Lepton flavor violation is new to me," Casey said. "I spent a year reading papers trying to understand it, and in the last lecture, Yoshitaka Kuno was able to put it all together in one sentence."

Bob Bernstein, co-spokesperson of the Mu2e conversion experiment at Fermilab believes the lectures are beneficial for anyone interested in the laboratory's future pursuits, but particularly useful for graduate students and young professionals.

"There is more going on in the world than the search for the Higgs," Bernstein said. "This is a chance to get a sense of the bigger picture."

The next talk in the series will cover neutrino phenomenon in NOvA and other experiments. Patrick Huber, from the Virginia Tech University Department of Physics, will present this talk at 4 p.m. in One West on Thursday, April 16. A food and beverage reception will follow.

-- Rhianna Wisniewski

Fermilab forms disability awareness group

A new group forming at Fermilab will dedicate its efforts to fostering respect and inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Unity Coat, a disability awareness affinity group, is open to all Fermilab employees and affiliates.

"Disabilities can be visible, transparent, stated, secret, permanent or temporary. They can be our own or belong to someone we know," said Kathy Johnson, Unity Coat co-organizer. "Unity Coat unites all for one cause."

The group will work to dispel stereotypes and prejudices, increase awareness, acceptance and recognition of individual diversity. It will also work to establish a central resource for anyone at Fermilab who shares the concerns of persons with disabilities.

The name Unity Coat is symbolic for the unification of persons who wear the "coat" of disability, said Julius Borchert, Unity Coat co-organizer.

"The disability coat, unlike our winter or rain coat, is one that often cannot be removed," Johnson said. "Disability is a minority, one that anyone can join at any moment."

The Unity Coat affinity group intends to promote diversity and foster a transparent culture of workplace inclusion. Planned activities include seminars, kiosk exhibits and community outreach. For more information on the group, or to join Unity Coat, contact Kathy Johnson at kjohnson@fnal.gov. For more information about the Fermilab Diversity Council and its subcommittees, initiatives and events, e-mail diversity@fnal.gov.

National laboratory avoids Italy quake damage

From Nature.com, April 7, 2009

The Gran Sasso National Laboratory, a particle physics research centre 15 km from L'Aquila in central Italy, has survived intact the earthquake that destroyed the historic town on 6 April and killed at least 180 people.

"Gran Sasso labs and experiments have not suffered consequences of the earthquake," says Eugenio Coccia, the centre's director. "But of course many staff have had their houses destroyed, like so many others who live in the region." No scientist has been recorded among the dead.

Scientific experiments are being monitored, but no major experimental work will take place until after the Easter holiday, says Coccia. Normal scientific work will begin Tuesday, April 14.

The research centre investigates the properties of neutrinos and dark matter. Its large underground labs built deep inside the Gran Sasso mountain were designed to withstand powerful earthquakes. The epicentre of this one, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, was just 10 km west of the centre.

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